People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
